An aircraft is provided. The aircraft includes truss elements configured to form a space frame fuselage, and skin panels connected with the truss elements and configured to form a skin over said space frame fuselage. The skin panels are movable relative to one another so as to prevent loading of the space frame fuselage from inducing loading in the skin. The aircraft includes a fitting. The fitting includes a first intermediate portion, a first outer portion, and a first inner portion. The first outer and inner portions are spaced apart from each other and interconnected by the first intermediate portion. The skin panels include first and second skin panels that are adjacent to each other. The first skin panel has a first end portion that is adjacent to a second end portion of the second skin panel. The fitting is positioned between the first and second skin panels such that the first and second end portions of the skin panels extend between the first inner and outer portions. The fitting is configured to enable the first and second skin panels to move towards each other along a first plane of first outer and inner surfaces of the first and second skin panels while constraining non-planar movement of the skin panels with respect to the first plane.
Fuselage Skin Panel Connection System and Method for Connecting Skin Panels
2018-05-31
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
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